Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways Alhassan Suhuyini has said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) lacks the moral authority to lead criticism of President John Dramani Mahama’s appointment of new Electoral Commission (EC) deputies because it failed to heed similar calls during its time in government.
Suhuyini said the NPP’s defence of its own appointees under former President Nana Akufo-Addo had made it difficult for the party to challenge the latest appointments without facing questions about its past conduct.
He recalled that the NPP government had been urged to get its EC appointees to resign but refused to heed those calls.
“I wish they had listened. It would have made this conversation much easier for everybody,” he said on Newsfile on JoyNews, adding that the party’s “defiance” and the defence it mounted at the time had complicated the current debate.
Suhuyini said the NPP should allow people who had consistently raised concerns about EC appointments to lead the discussion rather than positioning itself at the forefront of the criticism.
“When I saw them address a press conference, I was like, come on guys, hide. You shouldn’t be part of this conversation,” he said.
He added that the party should not lead calls for standards it had failed to uphold when it had the opportunity to address similar concerns.
“You should be the last to speak. Let maybe the Kodios and others talk before you,” he said.
